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The Open Source Portrait – Postprocessing (Part 2)

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In my previous post I walked through the concept and shoot of my portrait of Mairi. At this point all I’ve got are a bunch of RAW (and jpg) files of the shoot. I know that I forgot to mention it in the last post, but for goodness sake if you can shoot RAW – do it. (It saved my butt with this image, as you’ll see below).

Also, you’ll be able to download my RAW file, and JPG output from RawTherapee below.

This is a long post.Seriously, this is the longest post I’ve ever written.I’m walking through many of the things I had previously written tutorials for, and apply them to a process this time so you can see them as part of a workflow.So, here’s a Table of Contents so you can jump to the section you need:[Read More…]

Phottix’s Multi Boom Flash Bracket Removes The Pain For Umbrella Softbox Users

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A while back we made a little rant towards Westcott’s Apollo. We were upset that using the Apollo (one of my favorite lighting modifiers) as not light stand friendly and required a Boom, a C stand or a VAL to be easily positioned.

The main issue is that with an umbrella softbox the lightstand is entering the middle of the modifiers, basically locking its angle against the stand to be exactly 90 degrees.

This is true not just for the Apollo, but also for other umbrella like modifiers like the Softlighter II from Photek (reviewed here).

Well, Phottix has been listening and have released a new flash bracket which seems to be the off camera dream bracket the Multi Boom 16″ Flash Bracket.[Read More…]

Using A Huge DIY Reflector For Hollywood Lighting

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One thing that make Hollywood light what they are is the fact that they are huge. Huge light equals soft flattering glamorous light.

Sadly, huge lights have their price and getting a big pro kinoflo kit may set you back a good $3K or so.

But how about using cheap worklights bounced of a huge reflector and diffused by a bed sheet? This is exactly what Matthew Scott did for as little as $55.

[Read More…]

Cera Hensley Creates Fantasy Worlds On A 3 By 3 Feet Table

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Cera Hensley, recreates fantasy worlds from everyday objects, and she does it all on a 3×3 feet table.

Cera photographs custom crafted landscapes, and completes them with miniature photos of models separately taken in front of a white backdrop. Playing with perspective and angles, the worlds are mischievous, annoying or surreal yet completely believable.

The process involves pre-visualizing the scene, building the landscape and posing the models to fit. Here are some more samples of her work along with some behind the scenes of their creations taken from two f her projects: Here Nor There and Mime Adventures.[Read More…]

A 50 Assistants Crazy Pyrotechnics Shoot

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A while back at November I attended Salon De La Photo in Paris which was quite cool. Very different atmosphere from the big shows in Europe and Vegas.

Luckily, I was able to attend a mass shoot done by Benjamin von Wong. It was a fashion/fire kinda shoot where it was not really clear what’s going on while the shoot went on and today I finally got to see the final pictures.

Ben is modest in his video and does not reveal all the details from that shoot. So This post is kinda a viewer report on what was going on at that time, and what I think as a participant that made this shoot a pretty happy and interesting experience for me. Any omissions, inaccuracies or right out lies are 100% my fault.[Read More…]

Pro-Tip: Make Cool Hazy/Light Leak/Mystical Photos With A Sandwich Baggie And A Colored Marker

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Photographer Jesse David Mcgrady shares an awesome tip for creating hazy and mystical photos in camera using a simple ingredient you probably have right next to you.

Photographing someone or somewhere kinda boring or plain? Want to punch it up with some cool vintagey or light leak lens effects without sacrificing quality of the over all image or using photoshop? Then try this:[Read More…]

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